Yellowstone North Loop To Reopen Saturday

Yellowstone National Park will re-open the North Loop to all visitors effective Saturday, July 2nd. Visitors will now be able to visit the following areas:

• Norris Junction
• Mammoth Hot Springs
• Tower-Roosevelt
• Canyon Junction (Dunraven Pass)

The park also did away with its "Alternate Plate System," more on that further down...

Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly:

“We're pleased to reopen the north loop of Yellowstone to the visiting public less than three weeks after this major flood event. We have attempted to balance major recovery efforts while reopening as much of the park as possible. We have greatly appreciated the tremendous support of the Department of the Interior; National Park Service; Federal Highway Administration; and our congressional, community, county and state partners." 

More On The North Loop

Federal Highway Administration engineers have now completed the last of their bridge and road safety inspections in the north loop, they've also made repairs to the wastewater systems which were overflowing thanks to the massive flooding brought on by late and sudden snow melt.

High water is still present in many waterways, and visitors to the park should know that backcountry closures in the park are still in effect thanks to damaged bridges and trails. HERE is a link to the Backcountry Situation Reporting website for details.

The North Entrance (Gardiner, Montana to Mammoth Hot Springs) and the Northeast Entrance Road (Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana to Tower Roosevelt) remain closed to vehicle traffic while temporary repairs are being made. While you can still enter the park's north loop in your vehicle, you can also enter on foot if you've come to fish and/or hike.

No More Plate System

Yellowstone National Park was forced to close over two weeks ago on June 13th.

On June 20th, the park was confident in the stability of its resources to reopen the South Loop, which extends from the north end of Bridger-Teton National Forest in NW Wyoming and introduced an "Alternate License Plate" system:

• plates ending with even numbers could enter on even dates
• plates ending with odd numbers could enter on odd dates

On July 2nd, Yellowstone will not only open the North Loop but abandon the plate system, which was put in place not only to ensure visitors didn't overwhelm the park but also gave engineers the chance to make the first of their many repairs. The plate system may be reintroduced if visitor usage become overwhelming, but for now park staff will continue to monitor use data, traffic, and infrastructure integrity.

We hope you enjoy your visit to Yellowstone National Park! Have fun & stay safe.